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THE MODERN GAME

PROMOTIONAL SOCIETY

Issue # 2 January – Febuary 2010

President: Kevin Everson,

C/O Bendemeer Post Office, 2355. NSW.

Phone: (02) 67696762.

Email: foxmountain@activ8.net.au

Secretary: Alan Brennan,

P/O Box 48, Biggenden, 4621. QLD.

Phone: (07) 41271385.

Email : merryanne_55@hotmail.com

Treasurer: John Pocock,

68 Clarendon Road, Lowood, 4311, QLD.

Phone: (07) 54261329.

Email: jc.pocock@bigpond.com

Publicist: Wayne Ingleton,

3784, Gatton/Esk Road, 4312. QLD.

Phone: (07) 54241977.

Email : rooeyone@bigpond.com

Editor: Merry-Anne Brennan,

P/O Box 48, Biggenden, 4621. QLD.

Phone: (07) 41271385.

Email : : merryanne_55@hotmail.com

Feed-back report and Societies response

Good-aye fellow modern game fanciers, here is our second edition of the newsletter as promised, so I hope

you enjoy the read. Before I start, there are a few things that we would like to clear up. The response from

our concept has been terrific but there is some conjecture that needs to be put to bed quick smart and as

promised, we will share everything that we can with our members. Firstly some feed-back that we have

received so far is that we are in competition with the Queensland and Australian Modern Game Clubs, WE

ARE NOT and NOR ARE WE THE LEAST LITTLE BIT INTERESTED IN DOING SO. I have spoken to

both Owen Glover and Jeff Burns prior to printing the first edition of this newsletter and I can honestly say

that we are singing from the same hymn book. In fact the Modern Game Promotional Society executive

committee has discussed this issue at length and we have decided that we are happy to be the central

promotional arm for all modern game, Australia wide. We will publish articles, show results, Judges

Reports, photos or anything else pertaining to modern game for any club, including The Modern Game

Clubs of Australia and Queensland. What this means is that they don’t even have to worry about producing

newsletters (we all know what a pain in the posterior that is) we will do it for them. We have also discussed

the fact that we will support these clubs (in fact we are considering sponsoring these clubs as we speak) and

any other club (for that matter) that is intending to promote modern game via the way of a feature, or may-

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be some of the other states would like to start their own modern game club, with our support, that’s fine we

will support it, after all the founding members of The Modern Game Promotional Society all agree that is

why we started this thing in the first place, TO PROMOTE THIS FABULOUS BREED OF POULTRY

AUSTRALIA WIDE, AND NOT TO BE IN OPPOSITION WITH ANY OTHER CLUB. We do not wish to

be a club but instead, we wish to let the host club run the show under their constitution, rules and regulations

and we simply just send the cheques (for the awards that we decide on) sashes and an insert for their

schedule promoting all of the different classes which sashes have been purchased for.

On another note, there has been some feed-back surrounding the fact of the amount of cash that any-one

particular fowl can win at a show sponsored by us. We are open to any suggestions and we will do what,

YOU, the supporting members of this concept wish, because with-out you, we are nothing; You must

remember this whole concept must be funded by you the members and we, the executive committee just

simply produce the newsletters and distribute the funds. Our goal is to obtain one hundred financial

members and if we can achieve this figure, than we can promote two different events annually; THAT IS

OUR GOAL.

On the subject of distributing the money awarded at the host shows, we are entirely in your hands, so if you

have an idea just drop us a line and we will debate on it. We have already started discussions regarding

different ideas on how we break-up the allocated funds ($1500.00) for each event and there have been some

great ideas put forward on how to better use this money better to promote the breed. Our president Kevin has

had an idea of having a 1st, 2

nd and 3

rd runner up to the reserve and champion bird so that gives five Fowls a

chance to pick-up some good cash. This is all hypothetical at the moment and will have to go an executive

meeting before it can happen, but this is the sort of feedback that we need from the membership. Imagine the

champion bird receiving $500, reserve bird $400, 1st runner up $250, 2

nd runner up $200 and finally the 3

rd

runner up receiving $150.

Another concept is that may-be we split the classes into different divisions so that the so called minor

colours are promoted as well (on a personal note, I can’t see why a minor colour cannot be bred with the

same merit as the favoured colours because you can use piles, black-red, duckwing and wheaten to breed the

so called minor colours, so their type should be competitive; Besides, I have won a modern game club show

with a birchen cockerel and we have seen a self black hen win the modern game club of Australia show and

a blue-red cock win champion hard feather bantam at the Brisbane Royal, all excellent examples of minor

colours winning major awards. Also, it wasn’t that long ago that duckwings were considered a minor colour

and were placed in a different division so I can’t see why someone can’t take up breeding whites, blues,

blacks, creeles or cuckoos in earnest and knock off a major award with them. I have seen a self blue cock

owned by our president that could have easily mixed it with the best of the so called major colours and

besides, the reason that they are called minor colours, is that there are not many around and that’s the fault

of the breeders. If we all chose a different colour and bred them, it would not take long before they were

annexing the top awards. I am on a mission to breed a few creels and I’m sure that I can get them to the

same level of competiveness as the black-red, duckwing, wheaten and pile. Ultimately it is up to the judge

having the courage to promote something different to the top isn’t) but that is my opinion only and not the

opinion of this society.

We have also taken advice and affiliated with the All Feathered Advisory Council of Queensland to afford

the membership peace of mind that they are covered in the event of something happening to them, so we are

now completely covered.

Anyway I hope that this short note has alleviated any concerns and paves the way to see more of you join

this society so that we can get on with our goal of promoting the inspiring and fantastic breed of exhibition

modern game fowl. The final thing that we need to say is that we need you to send your

membership/donations in as soon as possible so that we know where we stand financially for our first show,

so please if you think this thing is worth supporting climb on board the good train “Modern Game” as soon

as you can. ANYWAY ON WITH THE SHOW, Cheers for now, Wayne.

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Cecil R Thompson’s Writings

Cecil Thompson says the commonsense principle in rearing game chickens is to; avoid

artificiality as much as possible. What I mean is that if we would achieve maximum success

we must contravene nature’s laws only as far as is absolutely necessary. I certainly would not

advise hatching game bantam eggs by the use of incubators or even rearing chicks in a

brooder. It can be done but not so successfully as by the employment of natural methods.

Good broodies necessary... Broodies are important; some seem able to hatch and rear the

whole brood, while others loose chick after chick. Personally I prefer Wyandotte X Silkie

which is as good as any. Always avoid breeds with foot feathers as they are liable to crush

the chickens and suffer from scaly leg. The ideal hen should be clean legged and of a docile

nature and not given to wandering; otherwise should she break free she may lose many of her

chickens.

The ideal nest... For a nest box without a bottom is preferable so that the hen can sit on

mother earth. Otherwise several inches of earth should be thrown into the box, for which a

convenient size is about twelve inches square. The nest should be hollowed out sufficiently

to allow the eggs to incline towards the centre; a little fine grass should be used-straw, unless

well broken up, is apt to entangle the hen’s toes so that in coming off to feed she may drag

out some of the eggs.

Treatment of the broody... The hen should be placed in the box at dusk and the eggs

then given to her. The number of eggs she is allowed will depend on her size; Wyandotte X

Silkie usually cover thirteen to fifteen. The period of incubation is the same as in the case as

large fowls, 21 days. Some hens will not leave the nest unless lifted off-do this yourself

carefully so that none of the eggs will be taken up with her. She can be provided with as

much grain as she will eat, preferably wheat and kibbled corn, and should always have

plenty of fresh water to drink. A dust bath should be available as it helps the hen to be free of

lice. The usual time for a hen to be away from the nest is from ten too twenty minutes,

although I have known hens to have been off their eggs for over three hours and afterwards

bring out a strong brood. Should two or more hens commence to set at the same time it is

well to test after about six days and if several of them prove infertile the two settings may be

reduced so as to be covered by the same hen and the other can then be reset. Sometimes a

breakage does not show up at the first glance, especially if it occurred some hours before and

in such a case it is well to change and wash the eggs with Luke warm water. On no account

should the nest be left in a dirty state.

Chicken coop and run... Broody hens must be dusted well with insect powder a few days

before the eggs are due to hatch, for it is important that the young chicks get a start in life

free from lice. When you have decided that all chickens are hatched it is essential that they

be kept cosy and warm and in no circumstances should they be removed from the hen. After

twenty four hours they should be removed for the first fortnight to the chicken coop with

covered-in run attached, the size of the ordinary coop being 6 feet 6inches long by 3feet wide

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and 2 foot 3 inches high at the front and 1 foot 6inches high at the back. The front of the

coop and run should be of small mesh wire netting but the coop which forms the sleeping

compartment is divided off at about 2 foot 6inches from the rear end by small slats about 2

inches apart. Place the coop and run on short grass with the back to the wind and facing

north whenever possible so that the chickens get the maximum of sunshine. After a fortnight,

if the weather is favourable, the chicks can be let out with their mother, at first for a few

hours daily and gradually extending the time as the chicks get older. See that they have

shelter from wet, wind, and hot sun. Do not move the run for the first few days but after that

move the run every day. Fresh ground is an asset in the raising of any stock and especially

with game bantams. Natural environment cannot be challenged and it would prove of the

greatest assistance in breeding and rearing MODERN GAME BANTAMS.

Feed little and often... To rear successfully Modern Game Bantams no fixed rule can be

set down. Differing soils, climate, surroundings and varied situations exist and one can

readily understand that chickens on a bleak hillside will take more rearing than an equal

number from the same brood or mating nestled in a secluded valley. Wherever trees or

foliage grow in profusion game chickens will grow and thrive well. Modern Game Chickens

must be kept growing day by day-small, tall and slim with short feathers. Care must be taken

to feed little; a full bulging crop must never be acquired-a correctly raised Modern is too

graceful to even show the outline of a crop.

Great care must be taken in feeding bantam chicks. At least 48 hours must elapse before

solid food is given. The yolk sac, which is drawn into the body of the chicken just before

hatching, provides nourishment and food for the first day or two; hence there is no need to

supply food for that length of time. It is a mistake to feed to early as this not only not causes

the digestive organs to be upset,(which is easily done in young chickens), but also tends to

retard the absorption into the system of the yolk sac.

What to feed the youngsters... The first feed may consist of egg and breadcrumbs. For

the first two weeks feed five to six times daily; after that period four times daily will be

sufficient-little and often should be the rule. Never leave food laying around from one meal

to another, thus not only is waste prevented but there is no fear of the food becoming

contaminated before the chickens eat it. For the first week egg and breadcrumbs should be

the stable diet. Crumble the bread between your hands until broken up into pin head size

particles and add the egg in a hard boiled state finely minced. Another method is to use the

eggs in a raw state, beating them up well and then soaking breadcrumbs in them; the mixture

must not be made sloppy, but nice and crumbly. This makes a splendid and very

strengthening food and one of the finest means of getting weakly chicks on their legs.

Always give soft food in shallow troughs and see that it is in a dry and crumbly state. At the

end of seven days the egg food can be gradually stopped.

Now for a chicken pudding... Mix well together pin-head oatmeal 3 parts, kibbled wheat

2 parts, broken rice 2 parts making one pint in all. Add one pint of skimmed milk and cook

in shallow vessels in a hot oven for one hour, turn out to cool and dry off with fine pollard. A

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good alternate feed for one meal only is rice boiled with milk and mixed with fine oatmeal.

In cooking rice a little mutton suet should be placed along with it and care taken to see that it

does not clog together but remains as far as possible in single grains. The oatmeal then easily

adheres to it and it proves more attractive to the chickens. Cook only sufficient for one day;

it is then more sweet and wholesome and naturally better for the chickens. At this stage a

good dry chick food should be given also. The mixture should contain kibbled maize and

good sound wheat. When the body feathers appear you will want to add a feeding of minced

meat. Feed this sparingly. At three months the staple food should be of wheat. I have stopped

using canary seed for young chickens. Following my observation I have reached the

conclusion that canary seed, millet etc; all of which have an outer shell are unsuitable. The

bantam chicks do not know how to remove the shell of these seeds as does the canary; the

result is that they swallow the seed whole; the sharp points of the seed then irritate the

linings of the digestive organs causing diarrhoea, which often leads to death.

The value of milk... A supply of milk given once in the morning and again at night-just as

much as the chickens will drink each time-is invaluable, saving the lives of many chickens

which otherwise would die in early infancy. Absolute cleanliness is essential, otherwise milk

can be become a very serious source of digestive disturbance and possible disease. Milk I

consider to be finest food in the world.

Water, grit and green feed... Give the chickens plenty of clean water and place drinking

utensils out of reach of the sun’s rays; sun warmed water can kill chicks sooner than

anything else. Suitable grit must be given from the first day and after the first week or so

green feed should be regularly supplied. For the latter there is nothing finer than a freshly cut

sod, especially if the chicks are reared on an earth run. Another simple method is to cut up

finely with a pair of scissors a handful of grass. A little should be fed each day. I have seen

fanciers in England mix, this cut grass with the drinking water. Should the chicks show any

signs of diarrhoea the green feed should be withheld. Lettuce provides splendid greenfeed for

bantam chickens, but never give them those that have gone to seed and have a stem. It might

be thought that chickens just pick and throw greenfeed about; they do waste a lot but they

also devour much.

Beware of insects pests... It is very important to keep the chickens free from insects.

When young stock seek the warming influence of the sun and bake in it there is not much

wrong with their health. Careful observation on a warm day will reveal the weakly chicks for

they stand around in a moping attitude, uttering plaintiff cries and with feathers standing out

from the body. Give such chicks immediate attention; examine them for ticks and other

insect pests and make certain that the coop and sleeping quarters are not infected with red

mite. Ailing chicks are usually troubled with insect parasites and once they become covered

with vermin of this description it is almost an endless task to keep them clean. If ticks are

found on the chickens, either force them out of there resting place with the small blade of a

pen knife or smear the affected area with vegetable oil or tar, Vaseline or camphorated oil.

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As chicken ticks only affect the head, neck and throat there is no necessity to look anywhere

else for such pests. For Lice that run around the body and wings use insect powder.

Early perching... Contrary to an oft-reported opinion, early perching is not the primary

cause of crooked breastbone. If the perch is of proper size and shape, as thick as an ordinary

broom handle for youngsters say about four months old and for young chickens half that

thickness, I do not see how it can affect the breastbone, however young the chickens may be.

Wrong methods of feeding and rearing have more to do and much to blame for this trouble.

Allow the youngsters to perch as early as they desire to do so and they will not crowd should

a cold spell eventuate. Duck foot is a failing that is caused by keeping the fowls off the perch

to long. Getting them to perch early means that all the muscles of the feet, are brought into

play. Do not place the perches to close to the roof. Let there be sufficient space for all the

bantams to perch in comfort and all the perches, incidentally should be moveable so that the

ends can be painted with paraffin from time to time to keep pests away.

Modern Game require reach and it has been proved conclusively that the early months of the

hatching season are conductive to attaining it while the later months tend to retard it. August

chickens provide the early winners and quick maturing sort ready for the show pen at four

months but as they develop they spread to wide and grow stout. September provides the

“lasters” and they never develop to large and coarse. The principal disease to which chickens

are especially prone is diarrhoea, usually caused by errors in feeding unsuitable food and

long fasts followed by heavy feeding. Dirty drinking water and too much water are also

causes. When about two months old chickens are apt to show signs of flagging. To

counteract this bread soaked in milk should be given; it will prove a fine a fine pick-me-up.

Type comes first... Good specimens of this breed should possess style, be finely built and

have a long narrow and snaky head with strong, long curved beak and very little skull above

the eyes; both of which should be the same standard colour. The neck should be long and

slightly arched, the feathers short and hard, and on no account should they reach and cover

the shoulders.

Body confirmation... The body should not be too thick and must appear wider than it is

deep; back should be perfectly flat, the shorter the better, tapering toward the tail. The stern

must be clean cut and the shoulders good and prominent and well carried up with prominent

points. Legs should be long, muscular, straight and of small bone and should appear as

though they were stuck on the body, thus revealing muscular development that is not

apparent in legs that come out close together and under the body. The tail should be closely

folded and carried fairly low at a nice angle to the body, the main sickle feathers being as

fine as possible. The wings should be short and strong. It is essential that Modern Game

Bantams should stand well on their legs and feet. All these points are required irrespective of

colour variety. Looking down on the bird the shoulders should be the widest and squarest

part gradually tapering to the tail which is the narrowest part. The keel or breast bone should

not be prominent. A good Modern shows hardly any keel and when placed in the palm of

one’s hand no keel should be felt.

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The popular black-red... It is an old saying among the sporting fraternity of the British

Isles that the three aristocrats of the livestock world are the racehorse, the greyhound and the

Modern Game Bantam. Some of us are accustomed to the long, lean head and slimness of

the racehorse and the greyhound, and to such then the thoroughbred athletic appearance of

the black-red (or to give it its full title, the black-breasted red) Modern Game is irresistible.

More perfect than breeds... We are able to say without the least fear of contradiction

that the black breasted Modern Game fancy has produced more perfect specimens than any

other breed of fowl or bantam known. Of course that is hardly to be wondered at when one

recalls the great fanciers in England, past and present who have marched in the ranks of the

Modern Game fancy; the high prices commanded for the best specimens of this breed and

the frequent sensations caused by some specimens exhibited on the show bench.

World wide popularity... For years the breed has been eagerly sought after by admirers in

every part of the world. American fanciers have claimed many champions in England at

record prices and the writer has received enquiries from America, including one from the

chief of police, New York City of Rochester), for black reds. Germany has produced some

beautiful specimens, especially those exhibited by Oscar Salruflen, Germany, and the

popularity of the breed is increasing in Canada, Africa and New Zealand.

Early history of black-reds... The first black-red to cause a sensation on the show bench

was a pullet bred and exhibited by the late Mr Entwistle in 1866, which won all the leading

cups of her day and is reputed to be the ancestor of all game bantams of to-day. The first sale

of black-reds recorded was in the year 1858. In those days they certainly differed from the

present specimens; their top colour was darker than the ones seen now and they were sound

in breast and thighs even in their third year. They possessed long, fine, snaky heads and their

eyes were bright cherry red; tails were longer and hackles more flowing and they were

stouter in body and shorter in thigh. The females also differed in colour from that desirable

to-day. There was no Old English in those days. Old English are a more recent production,

derived from the Modern, and cannot for certain rank upon the same plane as the black-red

Modern which for many years has been recognised as the king of all bantams (Note. Recent

research makes the last paragraph academic. Proud in his book claims that he had Old

English and his father and most likely his grandfather also; that would take the Old English

back to well before the Modern Era. G.C.)

An outstanding breeder... Many famous fanciers have been connected with modern

game black-red bantams, but none more successful than John Beesley, the genial owner of

Damswood House stud, Parbold, England, whose wins at the classic shows during his long

years of association with the breed have been really wonderful. He is probably the only

fancier in the world to-day who obtains his livelihood solely from one breed of exhibition

bantams.

Importance of pedigree... The necessity for the existence of pedigree in producing

typical black-red Modern Game bantams cannot be over estimated. It is vital that you choose

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one strain and stick to it, going back to that strain each time new blood is required in your

own your stock. Outcrosses are sometimes necessary; but whenever possible, that phase of

breeding should be left to the expert. The latter knows his own strain for generations back

and very probably knows the strain he proposes to introduce almost equally well. Even with

this knowledge it may take him years to reach his objective.

Line breeding necessary... Naturally with pedigree so important, line breeding is

necessary. The rudiments of anatomy should be closely studied and after an insight into it

has been attained a good general knowledge of the framework of a Modern Game bantam

will have to be gained, for instance a male excelling in all its properties with the exception of

the structural part of its back should be mated to a hen as perfect in back as possible in order

to balance the defect. Always, it must be borne in mind that defects of bony substance are

hereditary; and failings such as this may be readily transmitted from one generation to

another.

Demand perfect health for breeders... Certain defects of structural importance are

much more transmissible through a female than by the influence of the male. Perhaps one of

the worst points in breeding is that if there is any transmissible disease or weakness present

in the parents there is a cast-iron certain chance that you will get it in increased intensity in

many of the youngsters (chickens). Never should one inbreed with a fowl, however perfect in

feather and type, that is a bad-doer, slow-grower or a sleepy, dull-looking specimen.

Remember what happens in nature and follow her closely.

Inbreeding and prepotency... Prepotency, or the power to produce in the offspring, the

characteristics of the parent, can only be obtained in perfection in inbreeding. As an

example, suppose we take two strains of pullet-breeding black-reds that are in no way related

to one another but nevertheless each strain possesses the characteristics of producing its

pullets free from any rustiness and shaft on the wings etc. We now mate a cockerel of one

the strains with a pullet of the other and the result would probably be that the entire progeny

produced would lose in the pullets that nice soft partridge colouring and all would be more

or less rusty. In such a case the infusion of foreign blood-that is unrelated blood-causes a

reversion to their former ancestry; but possibly there might be a sport or two that exhibited

the desired partridge colour and if we were to mate such back to the parent cock we would be

likely to find most of the off-spring in the next year showing the soft partridge colouring

inherent in their parents, the prepotency of the strain to a large extent revived by the act of

inbreeding.

Double mating essential... In breeding, care should be taken to see that any defect or

weak points on one side is more than counter- balanced by ensuring that the chosen opposite

sex excels in that point. Such defects and weaknesses are easily transmitted to the off spring

and the faults, once established, are often difficult to eradicate. It is essential also to mate

two pens when breeding, one for cockerel-breeding and another for pullet-breeding.

To produce exhibition males... Taking the cockerel-breeding pen first, the male to head it

should be one approaching the standard of perfection-that is an exhibition specimen, or one

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fit to show. He should be tall and stylish, with head and tail carried at a nice angle; the head

should be long, lean and snaky, with a strong, slightly curved beak, bright red and prominent

eyes and the colour of both head and face a healthy red. The neck should be long and fine

with feathers as close as possible. Body shape should be the flat-iron style (wedge shape)

with no great depth of keel and tapering from square, prominent shoulders, the later carried

well up and the wings short and rounded and well tucked into the sides. The back should be

perfectly flat as short in body as it is possible to get; with clean cut stern. The thighs should

be well set apart as this affects the game-like look of the movements of the bantam. Shanks

must be long, fine in bone, clear and smooth and terminated in long, straight toes with good

claws; tail should be fine and short and whipped closely together, the sickles being as fine as

possible and carried slightly above the level of the body. The whole feathering from head to

tail should be short and hard and as wiry to the touch as possible.

Such a male should have brilliant top colour-orange-red cap very light golden-orange neck

and saddle hackle, free from smut or stripe, bright crimson back and wing bow, wing bays a

light chestnut running through to the end of the feather (wings). The remainder of the

plumage should be green-black free from ticking on breast and thigh. The beak should be

dark green or horn colour, legs willow or olive. Blue legs provide a sure sign that duckwing

blood has been introduced.

As for the females to be mated to such a male it matters not how far they are in appearance

from an exhibition coloured female. Select those best in shape and reach, prominent in

shoulders, nicely tapering towards the tail, the back perfectly flat, the shorter the better. They

must also have a clean cut stern with short, fine whiptail and should be very light in hackle to

crown of head; usually they are paler in breast and if wings are what is termed “rusty” or

show drab patches it matters not as long as their mothers and grandmothers were bred from a

cockerel-breeding pen. The shanks must be of nice length with plenty of thigh, legs set at a

nice width, fine and round in bone, evenly scaled, with feet and toes straight and sound.

Don’t use wheaten blood... So many breeders make the mistake of introducing wheaten

blood into their breeding pens. There is just one result-many that are unfit (the offspring) as

show specimens and worthless as breeders. It is difficult to get a wheaten sound in breast

after one year. If you want to breed good coloured specimens stick to pure partridge-bred

black-reds.

The pullet breeding pen... The female to use in the pullet-breeding pen should approach

the standard of perfection. The necessary characteristics are tall and typical in shape, reachy,

prominent in shoulders, the back flat and short, finishing off to a narrow stern; chest not so

full; the body must not be too thick, having the appearance of being wider than deeper, long,

lean, bony head, with rich bright-red eyes, good and sound shanks, fine and round and as

long as possible. The hackle short, pale gold, slightly striped with black down the centre of

the feather, with a clear gold cap; rich salmon on the breast and running to ash on the thighs;

tail black except the top two feathers which should match the body feathers; the remainder of

the plumage a nice soft even shade of light partridge-brown, or brownish-drab ground colour

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very finely pencilled with a slight golden tinge pervading the whole and on no account

running into distinct pencilling or shaftiness. Special attention should be given to see that the

wings (ends) are free from lacing or dark bars.

The male to head the pen should be what is called a pullet-breeding specimen, otherwise he

is useless. He should possess all the requisites of a tip-top exhibition fowl except colour,

which varies very much; some are very dark in top colour, others very light or washy, whilst

some show a lot of brown on breast and fluff, hence the importance of knowing the pedigree

of the fowl to be used.

(Note; Mr Thompson does not state or perhaps the editor did not print the actual colour of

the sire to be used in the pullet-breeding pen. It will be found from further writings that a

bright coloured male should not be used. Compton’s “Book of Poultry” says that the pullet-

breeding pen should be headed by a male that is one uniform shade of red or orange overall,

one that would not readily win in a class of better and brightly coloured birds- I am indebted

to the late Mr R. Watson for supplying this information from the stated book. G. C.).

When mating up pens the beginner should see that he has in his fowls typical game type,

shape and quality. The closer these lines are followed the more likely is one to breed show

stock. The views and advice embodied here are based on some forty years experience in the

fancy; and although a great deal may have covered ground that has already been dealt with

and may be well known to the fancier of experience, the novice or beginner, I hope will find

of much interest.

How to breed the pile variety... The pile modern game bantam is one of the most

charming and distinguished in appearance of all bantams. It is a most interesting variety,

although difficult to breed to perfection. Piles were first exhibited with willow legs. At that

time, the variety was much longer and carried more feather that we are accustomed to see at

our shows, and exhibition specimens were more easily produced with willow legs than they

are with yellow legs. In England, they have a club to watch over their interests and guide

their destiny.

Leading British breeders... The best team I have seen was bred and exhibited

successfully by one of Scotland’s most successful fanciers, Miss Lindsay, of Coal town,

Markinch and they were decidedly superior to anything I have seen since. This stud has been

before the fancy since 1880, the Lindsey’s then, being known as the Lindsey brothers.

Scotland, of course, has been considered the strong-hold of piles. Notable breeders and also

exhibitors in England and Scotland (past and present) include Messrs. Entwistle, Summers

Bros, Wilkinson, Crabtree, Floyd, Smailey, Aird, Coults, Smith, Gathcole, and Pelling also

Hamilton and son, Edwards and Cathart. The popularity of, and the interest in the breed have

been well maintained during the past few years.

Importance of top colour... The pile male to-day is almost a lemon and white fowl, for

fashion has changed his hackle through the years from deep-red to an orange-red and then

from an orange to clear lemon. Unfortunately our judges are very slow to grasp the change

over and very often award prizes to exhibits that should be heavily handicapped for being too

11

dark in top colour; 90% of the present day pile males exhibited are far too dark in this

respect.

Correct colour in males... The greatly desired colour is a nice bright brick shade. The

neck and saddle hackle should be a clear lemon, not washy in neck hackles as some are.

Exhibition piles not easy to breed. In the first place it is not a natural colour, but an in-

between shade produced by white on one side and black-red on the other- just these two and

nothing else. With this in mind some idea may be formed of the nicety with which the two

can be blended; too much black-red produces the blue or marble; too much white the lemon.

In addition one has leg colour to contend with, so we need to reduce the black-red more than

once to produce a good percentage of yellow legs.

Best results from double mating... In breeding piles, the best results are achieved by

what is called double-mating; that is a special pen must be got together to exhibition

cockerels and a different pen to produce exhibition pullets.

To produce exhibition coloured males... For the breeding of exhibition cockerels, an

exhibition male is needed. Such a specimen must be as near perfect type as possible and

possess the brightest possible top-colour and sound dark chestnut wing bays without the

slightest trace of un-evenness, together with the purest of white breast and bars. Be sure that

the male possess plenty of lift and is well cut away and balanced, having plenty of thigh

which should be as fine as possible. The leg should be a bright orange yellow and do not

forget the bright cherry-red eye. To such a male, mate hens or pullets of good shape with

sound dark fronts and rust on the wings. Be sure that these females are the same strain as the

male. They should also be broad in front, with prominent shoulders, short in back and

narrow towards the stern-many fail here. Remember that the female governs the type of her

progeny-tall and reachy, with short, fine whip tail.

The pullet breeding pen... We seldom see an outstanding pile female exhibited today.

The majority are just lemon piles which are deficient in the red pigment and only suitable to

mate with black-red. The deeper the breast colour of females the better; the standard calls for

a warm chestnut, as deep in colour as possible. These with a pale breast or a breast that is

salmon only in the centre are stock females and should not be tolerated in the show pen-but

alas! There are a few judges to-day who appear to appreciate that one is difficult to achieve

but when produced clearly approaches the ideal, while the other takes no breeding to produce

but comes like weeds in the garden. A pullet-breeding cockerel is seldom an exhibition

specimen, being as a rule darker in the top colour than the cockerel-breeder, and preferably

use a second-season male whose linage proves that he comes from exhibition females and

without the influx of cockerel-strain blood. He should have a marble mark or peppered

breast, and being deficient in wing bays is of no detriment; of course he must be of good type

and as fine in bone as is possible to get.

The female to mate to the above male again must be of the same strain as the male. One

should only use exhibition females, which as far as colour is concerned could win in keen

competition. They must possess very clean body colour, be free from any tinge of red, with

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deep salmon breasts and good prominent shoulders, the latter carried well up with prominent

points. The back should be flat, the shorter the better, and must taper to the tail. Shape,

colour, lift and fineness in bone are the essentials of pullet-breeders.

To maintain colour in males... After a few years your strain may not produce cockerels

sufficiently bright in top colour. One method to overcome this is to use black-red. Select the

cleanest and brightest coloured male, possessing sound black in breast, free from rust in fluff

and sound bays. To such, mate females best in shape and reach. It matters not how much

colour they have on backs and wings-their purpose is merely to transmit the black from the

black-red into white. There must always be a mixture of black-red to breed pile cockerels. If

the male is but once removed, the female should have been bred back to the pile three or four

times since their last cross with black-red.

Alternate cross... In considering a second mating to breed pile females, it has been

established that the most perfect coloured black-red females are the only desirable outcross.

It is essential that the wings must be the same soft tone of colour as the back; any sign of rust

must not be tolerated. Such females can be used with a pile male which has been bred from

exhibition females.

Environment important... Environment exercises a controlling influence on all game

fowls, especially piles. I would not commend this colour to anyone who has not a grass run

away from smoke and dust; continual washing takes all the nature out of the feathers. A

preparation used in the rinsing after washing, composed of starch, French chalk and powder

blue leaves quite an artificial finish and is far preferable to bleaching for those who are not

satisfied to pen their birds as produced by nature unassisted. Such preparation is easily

detected by wiping a dark cloth over the feathers, to which a dusty substance will adhere.

To improve leg colour... There is much in breeding and feeding for leg colour; a good deal

depends on type of ground; clay or mossy land assists yellow legs, sand and gravel give good

results. Lime stone plays havoc.

How to breed duckwings...The blend of colour seen in the duckwing variety of modern

game bantams is a very pleasing one, and it is rather a pity that duckwings do not make

greater progress than they appear to do. A beginner should do well with them provided he

takes them up in earnest.

I believe that I am correct in saying, that the first reported sale of duckwings was in 1866,

when a Mr Phillips paid 30/- for a pair of them from the late Mr Entwistle. Of course game

bantams of those days were not as they are to-day; they had long fine heads, but their hackles

were more flowing like those of the Old English and they were, of course, shown in pairs. At

the Kendall Game show in England no distinction is made in duckwing females. What is

known as a duckwing male is a golden, and the silver duckwing male is classified as an

A.O.C. On the other hand a silver duckwing female remains a duckwing and may very

frequently beat her golden sister. A first class exhibition female is difficult to breed; the deep

salmon breast and clear French-grey top colour, free from rust on sides are not easily

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combined. I remember when silver females were thought no more highly of as a show fowl

than lemon piles in the breeding pen.

How to breed cockerels... There are two matings for cockerel-breeding. One is the

employment of a golden male, possessing all of the requirements of a real tip-top exhibition

specimen. A clear creamy white neck hackle is most desirable; striped hackles come easy

enough from pullet mating. A golden saddle, not maroon or cream is desired and breast,

thighs, and wing butts should be sound black with wing bars lustrous steel-blue and wing

ends clear white free from rust or chocolate-nearly all duckwings fail in these markings. The

females to mate with such a male should excel in reach; their colour should be rather of the

darker shade but level with fine wing ends. Such a mating will produce some excellent

pullets as well as good cockerels.

An alternate method... Another mating-that of a black-red cock to duckwing hens-was

always considered ideal. The male should be very active and alert, with plenty of lift, and

well cut away behind, short and hard in feather and sound as possible in his back, with

perfect wing bays and clean neck hackle; whilst the duckwing hens may be rather paler on

breast and rusty on wings. This mating will produce some very excellent rich-coloured

golden duckwing cockerels but the pullets will come black-red in colour. The later may be

mated back to a male duckwing for cockerel breeding; and this is where nature has her say

and rules that no female can be produced of like colour to the mother and also that a pure

black-red cock cannot produce a duckwing pullet. Oh, yes you can scan the last paragraph

again; sex linkages have always been in practise!

The silver duckwing... The silver duckwing is a purer variety in blood than the golden.

The silver duckwing male has a silver hackle and saddle. These are thought to be the best for

pullet breeding-they certainly are with black-red females for their silveriness denotes that

they lack the duckwing pigment colour and therefore are better used to reduce the black-red

to a desired steel-grey shade. In choosing your black-red females care must be taken that

they are light on the head and cap-more of a drab than brown on top-free from shaft, one soft

level shade throughout and fine and even in wing ends. Do not forget also that they should

have good sound breast colour.

The true duckwing female... A duckwing female should be a golden duckwing and a

golden duckwing has a salmon breast with back and wings of French-grey or rich blue-grey,

finely peppered with black, without any coarseness on the upper wing feathers (flights) or

any lacing around the upper edge of such feather; and without any rosiness on the wings.

Legs should be willow and as fine in bone as possible.(Note when the late Cecil Thompson

wrote the above notes in about 1930, silver duckwing moderns were not in the British

Standards. However the 1971 edition of the standards (British) has them included.

Allowance will have to be made for this. It takes a pretty good eye to pick the difference

between a gold and silver duckwing female modern game bantam. Try it! G.C)

The birchen variety... Birchens, Birchen greys to give them their full title, were first

originated by the late W.F. Entwistle when trying to improve brown-reds by using silver

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duckwings. The original males had creamy hackles and were far to grey in breast and the females were far

too heavily laced on breast and back also. In 1884 Mr E. Mauder took them up for Lady Alington for whom

he was manager. Messers Anderson and Leach were others interested. Mr J.F Entwistle won the Crystal

Palace, Diary, Birmingham and other shows that season with them. Since that year Birchens have forged

ahead.

Would not sell at 150 pounds... In recent times the principle breeders and showmen in England have

been Messrs Hartley, Clayton, Smalley, Smith, Dr. Mansfield, Floyd and Kershaw. No other game bantam

has been more keenly bred in England in recent years than the birchen; there has been great demand for the

first class exhibition specimens and cockerels have changed hands for fifty pounds each and pullets at a

pound an ounce. However these are not recorded figures; in this respect black-reds lead the way with the

price of one hundred and fifty pounds which was refused for the winner of one of England’s classics, and an

even higher price for his son, the Birmingham winner.

The present day birchen... It was Mr Tom Taylor who the put the present day birchen on the map. It was

him and no one else who reduced and altered the shape of the lacing since its introduction, and also the

standard; originally the lacing was V shaped with white shafts to the feather extended down to the thigh-

frequently beneath the breast also. Now, however that has been disregarded and the lacing should not be

much below the shoulder point, be free from shaftiness and of the half moon or threepenny bit shape. A

birchen with little or no lacing on the breast, in either sex is not up to present day standard and is there-for

clearly wrong; also a heavily laced specimen does not conform to the standard and is also wrong. To-day we

find very few birchen pullets with the dense black body with good sheen, having what I call a perfectly

clean, white, “round” lacing on the breast; it is often most indistinct, not a pure white and the centre shaft

showing grey, which in my opinion spoils the effect. Again pullets are more or less too dark capped, we

want silver lacing on each head feather, combined with good lacing down the crop on the breast-not a dark

path along the side of the comb to a point at the back there-of before the hackle shows silver.

The breeding females... In selecting your breeding pen, reject all females which show any grey mossing

or markings on the body, even if they are perfect in head points and hackle, as such specimens are liable to

breed cockerels with white in secondaries and pullets which show light shafts in the body feathers will breed

both sexes with the same fault. Bear in mind also that the female also governs the type and size of her

progeny, and when silver is mated to silver the male exercises the most influence on colour.

The male to head the pen... In mating up the breeding pen, select a male with a long, lean head, eyes

dark, gipsy face (i.e. like a dead ripe mulberry), hackle and saddle silver, the latter not sooty coloured as

many are; shape should be of the flat iron type, (i.e. wedge shaped with no great depth of keel) and not flat

sided as many are to-day and tapering from a square front sharply to the tail with the back as short and flat

as possible, body should not be too thick and it must have the appearance of as if it were pressed together,

being wider than it is deep. The shoulders should stand out squarely; wings should be short, rounded and tucked well into the sides. Thighs should be well set apart, the shanks should be long, fine and round in

bone, clean and smooth, and terminate in long straight toes with good claws and as black as coal (willow or

blue legs are a sure indication of a duckwing cross). Tail should be fine, short, whipped together and carried

slightly above the level of the body. It is difficult, if not impossible, to produce males as dark in the face as

females, but they can be bred with dark eyes and dark rings around their eyes. Of course the majority of

young cockerels will be found to have excellent coloured gipsy faces before dubbing, but once dubbed they

often get lighter with age.

The brown red considered...Brown-red or brown breasted-red modern game bantams have been in a

more or less comatose state for many years, probably caused by the “in-and-out” manner in which modern

game bantams generally have been judged in Australia. Poor judging does much to hamper the progress of

any breed; unfortunately not all judges or fanciers are competent enough to recognise a good fowl when they

see it. It may sound rather a sweeping statement to make but I am inclined to belief that one could count the

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competent judges of modern game bantams we have on the fingers of one’s hand. I passed this remark to

that master of bantam culture, the late Joe Maud, during a conversation at the Goulburn show in 1934 and he

remarked “yes! Even on the hand of a man who had lost several fingers”

Affect of and outcross...On my return from England in 1920 I paid a visit to my esteemed friend Ben

Lambert of Goulburn, who, at that time had the best stud of brown-reds and birchens in Australia. In

consequence of the fact that the chickens came so delicate he decided to try an outcross and to-day he has

neither brown-reds nor birchens.

Importations from England...I had the misfortune to lose the only brown-red male I had in 1935, and,

not being able to locate a breeder in Australia with specimens of sufficient merit for my needs I decided to

import the best exhibition stock in England.

The bantams duly arrived and they compared favourably with any I had seen at the Crystal Palace show and

other classics as far back as 1907, and again in 1913 and just before my departure in 1918.

Stalwarts of the fancy...The late Mr. W.F Entwistle did a great deal for this variety, and of course, old

hands recall in addition the names of Messer’s; Dan Clayton, Hutton, Breakwell, Strech, Shaw, Haig and

Mr. P. Smith, the latter of whom made more progress than any other breeder by the introduction of a cross

and obtained the wonderful brilliant top colour. I well remember visiting the Crystal Palace show in 1913.

From the Indian game I wandered into the modern game bantam alley. The stalwarts were present in

strength and I had the pleasure of greeting many game men whose names are indelibly inscribed on the

scroll of game fame. There occurred an interesting friendly discussion regarding the colour of brown-reds.

The late Mr. Clayton said the colour he was striving for in brown-reds was the shade of a golden sovereign-

and he was regarded as the greatest breeder of all time. To talk of colour on paper is not very helpful as red,

orange, blue and lemon may-be represented by a dozen different shades in each.

Difficulties in breeding...Difficulty in breeding brown-reds is greater than in birchens; in the latter there

is no colour question. Mr. P. Proud has stated that the breast feathering of the hen should show a golden

shaft. They used to do so but fashions change; it would be quite wrong at the present time to breed from

specimens showing golden shaft to feathers anywhere on the black feathers, as the only gold required on the

black feather is the narrow edge of gold around the upper breast feathers and this gradually shades off

towards the sides and lower parts of the breast in both sexes. Mr. Proud also states that the hen should be

laced on wingbows and back for breeding cockerels. Personally I consider it a great mistake to breed from

such females. On no account would I use any hen that was laced anywhere but the breast.

Danger of a duckwing cross...The introduction of silver duckwing blood into this variety through crosses

with birchens has done much harm. Experienced breeders know that the black colour is antagonistic to the

“lemon” colour and if brown-reds are mated together for generation after generation the lemon turns to

orange, then to red and finally to black. The birchen cross which is generally used by inexperienced breeders

to counteract this darkening top colour, produces the very objectionable straw coloured hackles, instead of

the beautiful lemon top colour which is desired in brown-reds.

The correct procedure...The proper course is to introduce a slight cross of blue colour; it is this blue

cross that causes white sports, as blue is itself the result of a cross of black with white. Blue has an affinity

with lemon and a tendency to produce bright yellow spontaneously in the top colour, whilst it merges itself

completely into black.

Type of first importance...However excellent a colour a bantam may-be it is not a game bantam unless

the correct shape is there first. Directly one starts wooing the false goddess of colour and forgets the

omnipotent “bodily” health there ensures disaster in the near future. Stick to the same strain; and in-breed as

much as you like-providing you put health and vigour before all else. By mating standard coloured

specimens it is quite possible to breed good brown-reds of both sexes.

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Profile “Big” Al Brennan

If you see this bloke around, stop

and say good-ay, tell him that you

read about him in The Modern

Game Promotional Society’s

newsletter.

Al is seen here admiring his

reserve grand champion fowl at the

Gayndah show, a very nice

partridge hen. She is showing a

lovely stance naturally, with her

eye directly over the ball of her

foot. No stick needed here to make

her stand up correctly.

Let me introduce Alan Ross Brennan (Big Al) to our readers

Alan Ross Brennan was born in Mundubberra on the 7th

of April 1949. He was the second

child born to Paddy and Joyce Brennan, being the oldest son of five children. His father

Paddy (of Irish decent) was a hard working carpenter and a much respected member of the

Mundubberra community. It was this man who first introduced his son Alan to the wonderful

world of poultry keeping. Paddy never showed his fowl but his motto used to be if you are

going to keep fowl, you should keep purebreds. Paddy kept large soft feather fowl with

Leghorns, Minorca’s, Ancones and Rhode Island reds being his main breeds. Paddy never

showed his fowls because the rigours of working hard to rear his family in those days never

allowed him the time to do so, but he used to supply the whole town with fresh eggs.

Paddy decided to let his stud of Rhode Island reds go to a Mr Herbie Tessmer, who in turn

was a showman. Mr Tessmer bred and showed those reds winning lots of prizes at the shows

around the district for many years. Paddy, even though he did not exhibit his chargers,

played a big part in the exhibition poultry world at Mundubberra via the way of donating

funds and helping with the construction of the poultry shed. It was this shed that Paddy

would visit as his first port of call when he attended the show each year; the second place of

interest was the bar where he would go and enjoy a few cold beers with his hard working

mates.

It was Herbie who first introduced a young Alan to the magical world of exhibition poultry

that was to become a life-long passion which Al still enjoys 53 years on. At the tender age of

seven, Al was given some buff Pekin bantams by the late Mr Barry Sole, and Al bred and

exhibited these fowls winning his first champion fowl in show award at age nine. Al bawled

his eyes out over that win because that was his only stint in the juniors and because his buff

Pekin beat all of the senior exhibitors, Al was made to show in the open class ever since,

17

saying that you are too good to be in the kids section. Al kept this strain of Pekins right up to

the age seventeen, breeding, showing and winning with them. Al’s father Paddy and Herbie

quickly became young Al’s mentors, teaching him how to properly care for and prepare his

fowl for show.

His first introduction to hard feathered fowls were by the way of a trio of spangle old English

game bantams, given to Alan by a Mr Jack Mathews, a variety that he has kept ever since;

even to this day you will still find a few spangles in the yard. Alan’s first ever purchase of a

fowl was from Mr Bert Brumpton who charged the then eleven year old a shilling for a trio

of light legged partridge old English game bantams, stating to his father that if he charged

the young fella for them it would inspire him to look after the bantams properly because it

cost him some of his savings. Al kept and bred the spangles and partridge often beating Mr

Mathews with the spangles at the show, which made Mr Mathews proud.

Al kept on with his love of poultry up until the age of seventeen, when, like most of us, birds

without feathers started look more appealing than the ones that had feathers. This young man

disposed of his stud of bantams and started to pursue the fairer sex, playing football, working

with his father and forging out a career as a butcher.

In 1972 he met up with a young lady named Merry-Anne Beutel whom he had known all his

life, and went to local pictures in Mundubberra. This was the beginning of what became one

of the most wonderful families that I’ve ever known. They were married on the 6th April

1974 and got busy making three beautiful children, the oldest Davin, sister Leigh and

younger brother Murray.

All three children had an interest in poultry when they were young with Davin obtaining a

trio of pile moderns from the late Mr Keith Doblo of Rockhampton. Dav bred and exhibited

these fowls winning a reserve champion fowl in show and several hard feather bantam

awards, often beating his father’s line of pit game bantams to do so. Dav kept these fowls

until he went off to Ag college where he studied to become a diesel fitter and then started a

family of his own and no longer keeps poultry but in saying that, he still has a keen eye for a

good modern game. Daughter Leigh kept silkies where she would spend hours washing them

and getting the blow dryer out, spruiking them up and finally winning the best prepared

award at the local show. Youngest son Murray had an interest in modern game bantams for a

while but like the rest of the children he went off to work and has not taken them back up as

yet.

Now that Al was married and settled, he decided to take up his childhood interest of poultry

keeping and just as his dad had taught him, he purchased pure bred white leghorn bantams

from the late, great Mr Cliff Edwards of Kingaroy. This strain was bred and exhibited at the

local shows, winning a few class champion awards. It was 1984 and he, wife Merry-Anne

and the kids moved out of town and onto a farm at Biggenden. It was here that he met Mr

Merv Whally of pit game fame and was given a few pit bantams only to turn around and beat

him at his own game the following year. This became a great friendship, one that is still

going strong, often going fishing and crabbing together at Mervs shack near Bundaberg and

also travelling off to shows together either as judges or just mates.

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In 1988 he and his family purchased a house on half an acre at a small place called Degilbo

situated on the outskirts of the pretty village of Biggenden in the Burnett region, Queensland.

It was here that Al and Merry-Anne set about building up a great place to raise the kids and

not to mention quite a few exhibition poultry. They quickly seized an opportunity to

purchase another half an acre adjoining their place, giving them more country to build what I

believe to be a fantastic facility to breed and rear exhibition poultry. Al got busy constructing

poultry sheds from locally sourced timber and no expense was spared when it came to the

size of the pens. There are several rows of good, large (12ft X 6ft x6ft high) pens solidly

built from hard wood timber, iron and netting, allowing in plenty of light, air and a lovely

cool breeze in the summer and yet quite sheltered from the bad elements (not hard to see that

Al was the son of a carpenter).

In 1999, another well known pit game breeder from Toowoomba was going out of all of his

pit game bantams, so Al seizes the opportunity to purchase some wonderful stock from

Jeffrey Kalinowski and went home and replaced his entire (existing) stud with this new

blood line. He bred and exhibited this strain for many years and still has the same line today,

winning countless major awards with them; it is not very often that his fowls are not looked

at when it comes to major award time.

Another man that Al has a lot of time for is Errol Hetherington of large old English fame.

Errol is practically a neighbour of Alan’s and has taught him a great deal about judging and

what to look for when examining a fowl. Al is big on Errol’s advice that when adjudicating

at a poultry show the most important thing to remember is to judge what’s in the pen in front

of you and not what is standing behind you in the aisle (good advice for all judges because

that sort of rot, unfortunately, still goes on). Errol told Al that it does not matter, even if you

know who owns the fowl and you don’t fancy the character, you should always be

professional enough to award the bird on its own merit regardless.

Alan says that when he attends a poultry show and does not win, even when he thought that

he should have of, he just remembers his great friend, the late Mr Bob Jarvis, who used to

always say (with his characteristic huge smile spread across his face) it doesn’t matter mate

there is always next time. Bob Jarvis will be remembered by all who knew him as a true

gentleman who possessed the greatest attitude towards exhibiting poultry, never a bad word

to be said about anyone. Al says that he still keeps a few Wyandotte bantams around the

place to remind him of Bob’s always smiling face.

Alan’s fair dinkum introduction to modern game came by the way of meeting me (Wayne

Ingleton) about 20 odd years ago and he always admired the quality of the fowl and the way

they were always immaculately prepared and presented for show (stop it Al, that’s enough

now, how can I write that about myself!!) “Well it’s bloody true I’m telling you”. He used to

check me out at the shows and just admire the fowls and then he would come and have a

yarn for a while often asking me how I used to put them down so well. In 1992 at the

Queensland modern game club show he purchased a pair of piles from me and took them

home with the female going onto win a grand champion fowl, a reserve champion fowl, five

hard feather bantam and seven hard feather female awards in one season. (Gee if knew that

19

she was that good I would have kept her, ha ha, just goes to show what sort of judge I was

then). In 2000 Al purchased a pair of duckwing moderns from Desma Kleidon of Bundaberg.

He bred and exhibited this strain with a great deal of success and still has the same female

today, still going strong.

In 2005 I had to move to Mackay in north Queensland for work so not being able to take the

fowl with me I offered them to “Big Al” on the basis that if I ever decided to get back into

modern game bantams that I could go and select what I needed to get me started again. It

was this major introduction to modern game that really cemented his love of the breed and

that passion still continues to grow. We started a strain of ginger red modern game off

together about six years ago and its Al’s passion to continue to perfect them to the point

where he can knock off the top awards with them, push the piles, black-reds and the

duckwings at every show.

Another one of Al’s passions is the juniors

saying that we all were one at some stage and

he will do anything to promote our beloved

fancy to the kids. Al is seen here with the kids

and their teacher from the local school, having

an excursion out at the big fella’s place. Al

informs me that they asked to come a few

times and he is only too willing to help out the

local kids gain a better understanding of

poultry in general.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Alan and his family for about the last twenty years or so

and I can’t speak highly enough of the man. He is a gentleman, a terrific poultry breeder and

an enthusiastic supporter of not just modern game, but of all breeds of poultry.

Space has cut me short because there is so much more to tell but anyway I hope that you

have enjoyed reading about Alan and his family as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

WE THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE

MODERN GAME PROMOTIONAL

SOCIETY WISH TO THANKYOU FOR

YOUR VALUED INTEREST AND

SUPPORT OF THIS BRAND NEW CONCEPT

But please can you post your remittance as soon as you can so that we can get on with organising our

first event for 2010. We need to collect our available funds so that we know where we stand

financially. Remembering that we need your support to make this work and our cut off point is closing

quickly. We have a lot of fanciers verbally pledging there support and not a lot joining at this stage.

So please if you feel that this is a good concept join-up and help us “MODERN-ON”

20

Please fill out this part so that we can start a breed Register for other members to benefit

from. It will also help us when we come to putting on classes at our sponsored shows. Just

tick what colours you breed

Your Name

Your Postal

Address

Email: “our preference”

WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE

The Australian Standards Pertaining to Modern Game

Article on natural methods verses artificial methods

A member profile on Paul Smallpiece

Feedback report from this concept and financial members list

Treasurers Report

Large Bantams

Black Red Black Red

Blue Red Blue Red

Pile Pile

Silver Duckwing Silver Duckwing

Gold Duckwing Gold Duckwing

Blue Duckwing Blue Duckwing

Birchen Birchen

Silver Blue Silver Blue

Brown red Brown red

Lemon Blue Lemon Blue

Creel Creel

Cuckoo Cuckoo

Black Tail Wheaten Black Tail Wheaten

Blue Tail Wheaten Blue Tail Wheaten

White Tail Wheaten White Tail Wheaten

Silver Wheaten Silver Wheaten

Ginger red Ginger red

Black Black

Blue Blue

White White

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